How SEO will impact the wearables industry

With the Apple Watch raising the popularity of the wearables market, B2B firms and website owners need to consider wearable tech visitors when designing their websites. Sure, they’ve already made sites responsive for other mobile users, so what about wearables? Do they need to do anything more to cater to them?

Wearable technology is all the rage, and more consumers are using it (or wearing it, as the case may be.)

As more tech companies roll out products that let users browse the web, it makes sense that website owners will need to take them into consideration as they launch, update, and maintain their websites. After all, while wearables is currently only a $700 million industry, it’s forecast to grow to over $1.4 billion worldwide by 2016.

In particular, “(it’ll have) a major impact on SEO, (specifically on) the continued trend of hyper local marketing,” said Paul Teitelman, a Toronto-based SEO expert.

This makes sense, as users do a lot of Web browsing with their non-fitness-based wearables. For example, in 2014, Google Glass owners increased their surfing activities by 135 percent, surpassing mobile and tablet users, who only increased their browsing activities by 38 percent and 39 percent respectively.

Website owner tip: Optimize your business website for the phrases and search terms to take advantage of wearable web surfers.

Websites optimized for local users will increase

Google has made local business a priority with their last few search algorithm changes, so it makes sense that wearable technology would feel the main impact of this shift. National smartphone apps like Yelp, TripAdvisor, alongside hyperlocal ones like blogTO are increasing this consumer shift to local business.

It’s become “cool” to frequent local businesses, so it only makes sense that business website owners follow suit. Anthony De Guzman agrees, saying that website owners will start to “prioritize snippets of ‘local content’ within walking distance of your GPS location.”

Business travellers and owners are an untapped market for wearables, given the amount of travel that they do, and the amount of business they could offer to them.

Website owner tip: Optimize your website for local search terms and phrases. Analyze your website metrics to ensure you’re creating content for terms and phrases your visitors are looking for. If your B2B firm is proactively speak to your customers, see what drew them to your website or business, and include those topics and terms in your content.

Integrations with external websites and apps

Some wearables manufacturers think that mobile browsing on these devices will plateau at a certain level, however what will continue to increase is the interconnectivity with our smartphones and other web-enabled devices. Deepak Chopra of Clearbridge Mobile stated that “in the majority of cases, wearables function as an extension of the smartphone”, and they’ll be more important as an engagement tool through “push notifications, beacon technology and other location-based techniques.”

It’s a slow process, but it shows that the search engine giants are aware of how these external apps are affecting searches, so it’ll be interesting to see the changes that’ll come out of the Apple Watch launch.

Website owner tip: Look for opportunities to integrate with these types of websites and apps. Use only the ones that are relevant for your business, and test to see if they make a difference in your marketing.

Voice searches will change how you write your content

We already know that writing content the way your audience speaks is one of the best ways to engage with your company-page visitors and keep them coming back. And that’s it’s also a great method to earn a strong ranking with search engines, since people search for things the way they speak and ask questions as well.

If you’ve already been writing your content this way, then you’re all set for wearable searches too, since users will be doing more voice searches. In fact, some would say that voice searches make keywords even less relevant than they are now. That’s because of the way we speak. Google’s Hummingbird update took into account the meaning behind the words users searched, rather than the actual words they searched for. That’s why it favours websites that answer questions, and uses more common phrasing than those that just stuffed keywords into the content (either organically or not.)

Optimizing a website for voice searches takes this semantic thinking to a new level. A voice search is done in a more conversational, natural way, so a website must be optimized accordingly.

Website owner tip: Create content that’s more casual, conversational, and natural. You’ll be rewarded with better search engine results, and take advantage of any wearable users along the way.

Stay updated on the technology that affects your business

While it’s important to stay in tune on your own market, and keep an eye on your competitors, it’s also important to track what’s new in the online marketing industry. Having an agile marketing team that can shift with the changes is key to evolving your business. Understanding how technology, whether it’s wearables, new website apps, or mobile apps, affects your business will determine how well you whether today’s competitive business world.

When it comes to your website, maintaining a high search engine significance will be key, and user experience will be the driving force for it all. Local search phrases, conversational content, and integrations with external websites and apps will have your marketing team hard at work, and keep visitors coming back to your website again and again. Add in a well-prepared IT team that’s up-to-date on all the latest technology, and you’ll have given your business a significant head start on your competition.

Julia Borgini

Julia Borgini is a technology writer, copywriter and consultant for B2B technology companies. She helps them connect with people and grow their business with helpful content and copy. Visit her website to see who she’s helping today: www.spacebarpress.com